Aetna calls for value-based care system
Aetna International’s latest whitepaper has called on healthcare providers and insurers to adopt a value-based care system to help try to curb rapidly inflating medical costs.
Entitled ‘Bending the curve: Addressing rising costs in health care’, the white paper states that medical costs have increased by around 7.8 per cent in 2017, whilst also increasing by 7.3 per cent in 2016 and 7.5 per cent in 2015. It points towards the rapidly ageing populations of many countries, meaning that healthcare systems have been hit with an increasing number of ‘lifestyle’ diseases – such as cancer, diabetes and heart diseases.
Aetna International says it believes health insurers and healthcare providers need to adopt value-based care – in which healthcare providers, including hospitals and physicians, are paid based on patient health outcomes – to combat this trend and attempt to contain costs. On top of this, healthcare providers and insurers should address clinical inefficiencies and duplication of services, says Aetna, which will ensure customers can access quality care.
“Our expertise can be applied across all economies,” said Kelvin Schleif, Medical Economist, Aetna International, of the company’s approach. “In developing economies, we are able to help lay strong foundations if a healthcare system is not in place. We can also move the needle for governments in large economies by helping them establish the logistics for an efficient system.”
Aetna International says that since implementing its virtual health service, vHealth, in November 2016, it has reduced the need for physical consultations by 70 per cent and has seen a 35-per-cent drop in the cost of outpatient care (across a sample size of 10,000 patients). It also said that the personalised data it has on customers ensures low, medium and high-risk customers can be contacted with appropriate prevention, early intervention or care management strategies.